Tuesday, April 15, 2014

M is for Muleskinner

by Kim Van Sickler

[Kim's posts will all relate to her MG historical fiction novel with a paranormal twist: Muleskinner. Here's the pitch: An extraordinary canal dog gives twelve-year-old mule driver, Clay, the conviction to fight against a highly suspect Indenture agreement his pa supposedly signed...right before Pa was found swinging from a tree above Lonesome Lock.]A muleskinner is a person who drives mules. Back in the Ohio Canal era (1825-1913) a team of 2-3 mules were hitched in tandem (one behind the other) to pull canal boats (freighters) filled with supplies from any combination of distances between Portsmouth (south) to Cleveland (north), about 310 miles.

Muleskinner walking beside his mules

In my book Muleskinner, Clay has been helping drive mules for the freighter Bonnie Lass for six years already. At twelve years old, he is now a seasoned mule driver. He spends all day on his feet tending to the mules or walking with them. His biggest concerns are the condition of the mules, the weather, and the waits to lock through at the areas where the water level has to be either raised or lowered so boats can proceed either upstream or downstream. It's a physically grueling, frequently boring, oftentimes dangerous life. Did you know that President James Garfield worked as a muleskinner on the Ohio Canal? After he fell in the water for the 14th time, he developed a malaria-like sickness (referred to as the ague) that forced him to retire from the canals. His quality of life drastically improved once he did!

That image reminds me so much of the canals in England. When I was in 8th grade, we had a week long fieldtrip traveling the canals. While the canal boats are now powered, we still could walk the same trails the horses did before us. We still got to help with the manual locks. :)

Ironic how sickness can turn your life around in a positive way. Yeah back then six years at age twelve would be considered seasoned. Today in the West it would be child abuse. Funny how times change labor laws.

Thanks for helping us hit the triple digits. Swagger with us!

About Us

Three years ago we signed up to attend a Highlights Foundation workshop: “Writing the YA Novel.” Author Rich Wallace was the workshop moderator.
We met at the old Boyds Mills’ farmhouse: writing, talking, sharing, reading, crying, supporting, dining on Marcia’s gourmet meals. And yes, there was drinking involved. Somehow this diverse group jelled. And two years later, on October 2nd, 2011, eight of us returned for a reunion at the new “Barn” and decided to launch Swagger. A year later, six of us remain:
The former Australian footy player working on a memoir -
The Tuscan picture book author working on a memoir -
The mother, wife, and grandmother, from Cincinnati, working on a compilation of MG holiday stories -
The Denver author working on her follow-up novel -
The former prosecutor from Cleveland determined to publish her MG fantasy -
The established MG & YA author from New Hampshire -
We are Swagger – Writers with Attitude!

The Swagger Family

Celebrating our second reunion at the Egan homestead.

Where I'm From

During the first Swagger reunion, we were inspired by George Ella Lyon to write our own “Where I'm From” poems that appear on our individual pages. George Ella is a writer and teacher. Her website: http://www.georgeellalyon.com/about.html talks in greater detail about this telling poem, encouraging other writers to embrace its versatile format.